I don't think cats smell - do you?

[Grumpyoldpersonwithcats]

Not a TAAT - (but triggered by another thread.)
I don't believe I'm nose blind. I have just deeply sniffed all four of the Grumpy cats 😹 and I don't believe they smell of anything.

Please note I'm not daft -

• Yes, cat pee and crap smells,
• Yes, a litter tray does smell just after a cat has just been in, (but then again, so do human toilets)
• And yes, if a cat is peeing where it shouldn't in the house then that is likely to smell really bad.

But whereas I can almost always tell if a dog lives in a house (due to doggy body odour permeating soft fabrics etc.), I can't smell cats in other people's houses.
So I maintain that a healthy cat, in itself, does not smell
Am I right?

Any idea on good cat litter? I can smell ours sometimes but clean it out regularly and scope several times a day. I think it makes our house less fresh.

But, I can also smell if people are meat eaters. It's a grease smell and I hate it when I cook it for DD and DH. So I guess most houses smell to other people?

Discussions like this always make me wonder if it's like wether or not Coriander tastes like soap or not, maybe it's a genetic thing and you can either be noseblind to cat smells or dog smells.

I had a Russian hamster and he was stinky - I cleaned out his sleeping compartment every day because it would smell all sweaty and musty. He was adorable though. Out female Syrian hamster smelled nowhere near as bad 🤣

I use this. No smell.

I find all dogs very stinky, and can immediately tell if a house has a canine occupant. It actually makes me feel slightly sick if I stay in the room - the pong clings on sofas, cushions etc, and really turns my stomach.
Cats themselves don’t smell at all, but litter trays can be grim unless they are emptied promptly and the litter changed frequently. Fortunately my own cat prefers to toilet outdoors.

Cats themselves don’t smell too bad but their wee and their food stink. I’ve found I’m more likely to smell cat food in peoples houses than the cat. The cats are usually out doing their own thing but there’s still a smelly bowl of cat food hanging around.

My cat also smells gorgeous, warm and slightly sweet.
Her tray doesn't honk if it's kept scrupulously clean, which it is 99% of the time

I once had to emergency babysit for my neighbour who had two large dogs. It was very late and she told me to just nap on the sofa. I literally couldn't put my head anywhere near the sofa as the smell of dog was eye-watering.

Litter boxes smell, cat food smells, cat dishes smell if not washed after each use, old cats often have a slight smell, and of course if any cat is marking it's territory that will smell. Other than that a healthy clean cat won't smell in itself.

None of the cats we’ve had, have had a bad smell.

Our dogs do have a smell but regular grooming, hard wood floors, no fabric sofas, blinds not curtains, changing their bedding and blankets every other day and a cleaner 3 times a week keeps it to a minimum. All of our dogs have been to the groomer yesterday so smell lovely.

I don't think it's the cat themselves that smells (aside from the toilet but so do we!), but the environment around them clinging to their fur. Just the same as a sofa would smell if the environment around it had a bad odour (only example I could think of off the top of my head).
Cats which go outdoors will go where they will go, this may bring smells into the home on their fur.
I've got an indoor cat and she just smells of nothing to me. She is groomed as she is very long furred, and all toilet smells are swiftly taken care of.
I think some people just want any reason to hate cats and saying they smell is just the easiest option! My cats my little bestie haha

Cat owner and dog owner in separate parts of the house. Definite smell of cat in cat part and dog in dog part.
More partial to dog smell when they've been lying in sun. Warm and friendly.

Changing bedding and litter of dogs and cats respectively helps but doesn't get rid entirely.

I prefer both to the smell of a room after a man has been in it tbh! When we have a male guest for example, the sheets and the room just stink to me! And even after a shower the bathroom smells overpowering.

We're all just stinky animals.

I do think it's odd that people are saying "a healthy cat doesn't smell" - surely everything has a smell - it's just some people find it pleasant and others don't?

My cats definitely have a smell. I don't find it unpleasant but it's definitely there.

I didn't say that cats stink, most don't (I think). kust that they have a distinktive smell.

I would love to bury my head in a cat's fur, but that would definitely land me in hospital.

My cat smells warm and biscuity. I like it but that's because I love her.

Oh yeah cat food is gross. Garden pooper here, also gross (cat not me). But the actual cat smells luscious!

I think this is only true of houses with litter trays or where a cat has peed in the house. Or cat food left out. If they go in the garden there is no smell in the house. You wouldn’t know I have cats by the way my house smells and I have 4!

Car houses have a distinctive smell. Not pissy or anything I just know there are cats when I walk in. Can’t describe it.

I've been in houses where there's a litter tray and doesn't smell. I think if depends how regularly you clean it out. Dry food doesn't really smell.

It depends on the cat I think. My 4 year old cat is so clean and he never smells but we've recently adopted a 9 month old cat and she smells loads. Her poo stinks out the full house within seconds. She's my first girl cat so I'm not 100% if it's common for unspayed girls or not.
I've got her an appointment for Friday to get spayed and a check up, so I'm going to ask the vet to check she's ok. Her pee smells too. She's always cleaning herself and has never peed or pooed outside of her litter tray but I'm still having to change it a few times a day otherwise the house smells.

My tabby boys smell of fluffiness and love except for Kloppy's silent farts Girlcat is like Phoebe's Smelly Cat 🐈

I'm allergic to both cats and dogs and can immediately smell both when I enter a house. I associate the smell with feeling itchy and weezy so dislike it but maybe it's you're not allergic it's not a particularly bad smell?!

I must add, I smell pretty bad at the moment (recent surgery close to my armpits so can't wear deodorant) but cats don't seem to care 😸

I find cat homes usually have a distinctive smell, separate to cat food and litter trays. It's a cat smell, the same as dogs have a particular smell.
Maybe it's because I'm allergic so I'm sensitised. One of my DC is allergic to peanuts and can smell them a mile off.

Car houses have a distinctive smell. Not pissy or anything I just know there are cats when I walk in. Can’t describe it.

Yes, agree with this. I can't even think of something it's close to; but it's unmistakable cat.

Mine smell like warm biscuits.

Cats do smell, but nowhere near as strongly as dogs.

And the cat’s breath is mildly unpleasant (at least ours is).